Major Gifts

It simply makes sense to follow the money. Where is it? Let’s begin with that elephant-shaped piñata in the middle of the room. It’s filled with the majority of all philanthropy. Yup! It’s right inside. You’ve got to figure out how to get the goodies out of it or you’ll just be scrambling for spare change. Major gifts is where the real money is. How do you break open that piñata?...

Two years ago, we published a list of the 15 most powerful women in U.S. philanthropy. The idea for that article emerged because we were struck by how many women are involved in philanthropy at a high level—and equally struck by how little attention they tend to receive. In particular, while the spouses of male…

Just about everything. The emotional commitment of the investors to your cause will determine what sort of gift they will make, and the resources they will use to make it. Many large gifts are made that don’t qualify as “major” in my book. These gifts can be $1 million or even more, but they’re still not “major.” They’re still not transformative for the giver. The key for the fundraiser is whether the donor is making the gift from income or assets...

I had known the principle all along, but my sympathy for the major gifts officer had persuaded me that it was OK to do. So I supported the practice of just showing up at a non-responsive donor’s door unannounced bearing gifts and glad tidings. This changed when I heard three high-capacity donors talk about their reactions to the practice....

I have to tell you I’m tired of it. I’m tired of hearing from major gifts officers (MGO) who claim they don’t have donors on their caseloads that can give high five-, six- and seven-figure gifts. If you are an MGO with at least 75 to 100 donors on your caseload (remember, 150 is a full caseload), you have at least five to 10 donors who can give you gifts in the high five- to seven-figure range. ...

To achieve long-term success as a major gifts officer, you have to understand how complex your world is in reality. You are an explorer as you set sail to build new relationships—internally with staff, administration and volunteers, and externally with prospects. You must have clarity of purpose and focus as each relationship and fiscal year is different...

With a $22 billion endowment, Stanford University is hardly hurting for money. Yet the West Coast school keeps pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars in donations, and its fundraising efforts are pulling away from the rest of the nation’s elite schools, including the traditional Ivy League powerhouses on the other side of the country. Stanford…

Sixteen nonprofits came together in late 2015 and developed 10 key components for successful moves management for mid-level to major giving...

He was driving around for almost half an hour. He was lost. He had no idea where he was. Even his GPS was no help. There was no way he was going to get to his destination. There was no source of information he could tap into. Does this scenario sound familiar? Have you ever been with someone who was lost who keeps driving around saying things like, “Seriously, I think it’s right up this street,” or, “We’re pretty close,” but he or she will not stop and ask someone for directions?...

I want to let you in on a secret. Almost every day Richard and I get notes and emails from major gift officers, who, like you, are readers of our blog and lament that their bosses, executive directors or boards are making it impossible to do their jobs. Richard and I have a ton of empathy for your situations....